Wojna na słowa z polityką i historią w tle – językowe aspekty słynnego sporu o Słowian

Abstract

The article is devoted to the linguistic analysis of the polemics conducted in the press by Józef Kostrzewski and Bolko von Richthofen in the interwar period. The scientific subject – the ethnogenesis of the Slavs – turned into a sharp political polemic. The set of analysed texts is an example of a discourse – a tangle of texts, thematically related, standing with each other and with the discourse in a complex relationship. The texts refer to each other through numerous quotations, paraphrases, references in the text and footnotes. Their analysis provided information about the image of us – Poles (Slavs) vs. they – Germans (Germani), we – Polish scientists vs. they – German researchers existing then, as well as information on language strategies used to create a specific image of oneself and the opponent. Since the controversy was conducted in public, it also affected the public perception of the discussed issue, while the socio-historical reality of the time also had an impact on the course of the debate. The closer the Second World War approached, the more heated the dispute became, and the more scientists moved away from the scientific problem and entered into sharp political polemics.